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Nightshade sensitivity


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Hey everyone! I've been whole 30 for about 18 months and have recently been experiencing a host of crappy symptoms, including an unexplained  10 lb weight gain (5'6", 134 lbs to 144 lbs). I had some folks suggest I eliminate nightshades, but I'm hesitant cause I love them so much. What triggered you to give up nightshades? What symptoms improved? 

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What do a few typical days worth of meals look like for you? It could be that eliminating night-shades isn't the way for you personally to go....

What are the 'host of crappy symptoms'? Can you be more specific?

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Host of crappy symptoms:  

10 lb weight gain, bloating, water retention, near diarrhea almost every day, super tired all the time, weird periods where my fingers and toes get REALLY hot, generally just feel sluggish, like my body isn't metabolizing correctly.

Typical meal:

breakfast is ALWAYS a diced, sauteed in clarified butter, sweet potato, some homemade breakfast pork sausage (includes several nightshade spices) covered in guac.

Lunch and dinner is whatever I can throw together, but I always ALWAYS follow the protein/veggies ratio, with minimal fruit:  yesterday was beef roast over baby spinach, 1/2 avacado, sliced almonds, green onions, tomatoes, dump ranch.  Today is sauteed zuchinni and yellow squash, the same beef roast, a poblano sauce, 1/2 avacado, a few strawberries. I generally try to minimize all carb/starch heavy veggies after breakfast, cause I don't feel the best if I have more than one meal like that in a single day.  I DO have quite a few nightshades in all of this - fresh tomatoes, fresh and cooked peppers, night shade spices galore.

For more reference:  

I've started seeing a new doc, he's a DO that's interested in spending real time with me and understanding my diet.  He ran a BUNCH of labs last week, my thyroid is normal, all of my vitamin levels are normal, my blood pressure is low (maybe even too low 96/54 - that's a convo I need to have with him)...he says that on paper, I am "extraordinarily healthy."  Which...is frustrating cause I feel like crap.  He wants to do a sleep study next, cause I scored super high on a "sleepiness questionairre."

 

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Oh... a few more symptoms:  my skin seems to be healing very poorly.  I've had eczema on my legs my whole life, and it seems that I cannot manage it as well as I had previously with the exact same steroid that I've used for a decade.  Also...I'm breaking out more than I have in the past, all while continuing whole 30/Food freedom, just like have been for 18 months.    And when I break out, those blemishes don't seem to heal very well any more at all.  I have pigmented scars in those spots for what seems like a really long time.  

More reference:  I'm getting my Mirena IUD out today.  My new dog suggested, and I agree, that I should be removing all unnecessary hormones from my body at this point in the game.  

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Yep, I'd start by removing the nightshades and see how you go from there - they definitely result in a lot of the symptoms you mention in those sensitive to them. Steroids will only treat the symptoms - not the cause ;)

And yes, I think the coil should go if it's not needed. That should really help the hormones settle down at least, which may in turn help with *some* of the weight gain - some of it sounds like it might well be inflammation.

It's only 30 days, and the information you gather, both during the course of the 30 days and at reintro, may well be invaluable...

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I FEEL inflamed.  That's exactly how I feel.  Inflamed - my body is not functioning like it should.

Can nightshade sensitivities just...appear?  For the first 12-15 months of whole30, my body behaved in a predictable manner. By the book.  And now, I just can't figure out why I feel so crappy.  I feel like I've been on pizza and beer for the last month, when i'm eating spinach and meat.

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5 minutes ago, kraney said:

Can nightshade sensitivities just...appear?

They can and do build up over time - over exposure of ANY food can result in an intolerance, but once the body is allowed to heal it's quite possible you'll be able to reintroduce night-shades so long as you pay attention to 'dosage'. With potatoes, for example, a lot of folk do better when they avoid the skins, but everyone is different, and that's where your reintroductions will come in to play....

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This breakfast sausage that I eat daily now...it's relatively new to my diet, basically since I started feeling bloated/inflamed.  It contains cayenne and crushed red pepper.  I've had those things before during w30, but in occasional meals.  Now, I'm eating them every day.  I wonder if I just over exposed myself.

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3 minutes ago, kraney said:

 I wonder if I just over exposed myself.

Then why not try cutting out the sausage first to see if you see any improvement? If you can clearly identify that link then that's the place to start. 

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The gas is likely from some kind of malabsorption, so yes - night-shades are a possibility. Other culprits however could be too many raw veg, too many cruciferous veg, too many raw cruciferous veg, FODMAPs, raw veg which are cruciferous AND FODMAP (!!!), veg high in sulphur, too much seltzer/sparkling water, and nuts...... So, yeah, it's a jungle out there!! :wacko:

Start with the night-shades and take it from there ;)

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Just don't over think it and restrict your options too much.

One step at a time. And if you see no progress then take a step back & reassess.

ETA: And definitely keep a food/symptom diary!!

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If your doctor agrees, is recommend allergy testing. Find out which of the foods you eat regularly, if any, you may be sensitive to. If that is not possible because of cost or whatever an elimination diet starting with nightshades and anything else you eat/drink regularly (coffee, tea) is a good way to determine sensitivities.

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Thanks Georgina.  I talked to my doc about a food allergy test, he said what he has is more cursory - tests for wheat, corn, dairy, etc.  I just emailed him asking if we can do something more specific to the foods I consume.

As I sit at my desk eating lunch, it's occurring to me how frequently I consume some sort of nightshade variety.  Pretty sure I rarely go a meal without some nightshade.

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2 hours ago, kraney said:

In your opinion, would all of this mess contribute to my weight gain? 

Possibly, but then so could the mirena coil. What age are you if you don't mind me asking?

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25 minutes ago, kraney said:

I'm 36

Hmmm. My next thought was menopause, but it's too early for that to be making an impact. So yeah, IMHO the coil and/or the inflammation - hopefully you'll see improvement from removing both very soon...!

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I completely appreciate your input.  I've need some talks with an actual nutritionist who understands what I'm trying to do with whole 30.  My new doc definitely appreciates my choices of nutrition, but he's been hinting that maybe I need to start counting calories (cause I've been complaining about the weight gain), and that type of suggestion just does not feel helpful in this scenario.  I keep saying...I really don't care if I weigh 144, but I FEEL LIKE CRAP.  I'm fine with 144 if I feel good, but I just don't. 

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